Container Gardening: All i can say is WOW

i got one of them bags of waterbeads i was putting a plant into a 5 gal bucket.. the instructions said 2 tbsp so ok no problem.. i put 2 tbsp into a 16oz cup.. and umm had to get 2 more cups so far and split and add more water.. my only ? is did i read the instr wrong and it is gonna MAKE 5 gallons of that stuff..lol